"Herrscher of Wind subjugated. The corpse will be transported back to headquarters after isolation."
The people in the command room breathed a sigh of relief. Humanity's second battle against the Honkai ended more easily than they had imagined. The cost was less than a tenth of the first Honkai War, and the terrifying Herrscher was killed by advanced Honkai energy weapons.
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but cast admiring glances at the young back figure. Yet, he showed no sign of relaxation, still seriously directing the post-war efforts until everything was completely settled before putting down his headset expressionlessly and leaving the command room.
As for the applause that erupted in the command room, he paid no attention.
It wasn't until he was back in his room that he rushed into the restroom, lifted the toilet seat—
"Ugh—"
He threw up.
He leaned against the toilet, pale-faced. The sickening wave of nausea caused his throat and stomach to spasm. His brain couldn't think, his ears couldn't hear, and all he could see were distorted, warped images.
He tried to stand up unsteadily, but...
"Ugh..."
He hadn't eaten today; all he vomited was the water he had drunk while commanding.
His whole body was twitching. He couldn't even tell if he was still alive.
"Lin? Lin!"
Someone who saw him at the restroom door immediately rushed in, embracing him as he twitched uncontrollably, gently patting his back.
"It's okay... it's okay now..."
Under her gentle words, he gradually stopped the frenzied state, and finally, clarity returned to his eyes. He slumped weakly into her embrace.
Pressure.
The life and death of humanity were in his hands. He had to endure this pressure and make quick, decisive judgments. The indescribable burden felt like it was tearing him apart.
He enjoyed this tranquility that belonged only to the two of them. After a long time, he slowly lowered his gaze: "...Millions more people have died."
The large-scale Honkai event triggered the moment the Herrscher appeared made the death toll an exaggerated number.
"You can't save everyone. This isn't your fault." The pink-haired girl gently stroked his back comfortingly.
"But many soldiers also died," his mouth was filled with bitterness. "Their lives were sacrificed by a stranger, just to kill the Herrscher."
"But you still led humanity to victory."
"Victory? Herrschers are transformed from humans. The moment a Herrscher appears, it means someone has already sacrificed themselves, and we have to kill a former compatriot... How can we talk about victory..."
He felt as if he could hear the dying wails of those people. No... most of them didn't even have time to utter their final cries before being torn apart by the hurricane, while he stood coldly in front of the screen, watching the scene.
In that moment, he felt like he had become the Herrscher, personally killing those people.
"Take a rest, Lin..."
The pink-haired girl quietly embraced him, feeling the beating of his heart and his body temperature.
"No... there's still work... the Herrscher's corpse and Core..."
He pushed the girl away, staggered to his feet, and walked towards the door.
The pink-haired young woman reached out, but couldn't hold onto his retreating back.
...
He stood in front of the operating table.
The sterile white operating room was the same color as the skin of the woman restrained on the table. Thick blue veins protruded. The woman, bound at her limbs and gagged, struggled desperately, but was rendered helpless by the restraints.
Horrifying cutting tools were placed nearby, gleaming coldly.
But what truly frightened the woman was not the dangerous tools, but his eyes.
A gaze that looked at a lifeless object, neither pitying nor scornful, viewing everything, including himself, impartially.
The woman was one of his assistants. The three of them were both his students and his assistants, having worked together for three full years.
"Teacher, do we really have to do this?" The other two students stood beside him, who was putting on protective gear. They were already fully dressed, trembling as they asked him, who showed no change in expression.
He didn't stop his hands because of his students' hesitant question. After a simple and direct disinfection, he picked up a scalpel nearby.
"Will a Herrscher's birth have precursors? Will the Honkai consciously select a Herrscher vessel? And will the Honkai cause a Herrscher to be born prematurely?" He stared coldly at the woman still twisting on the operating table. "The answers to these questions are crucial for humanity."
"But she hasn't become a Herrscher yet!"
"When entering the ruins of the Third Honkai War, residual Honkai energy gathered toward her. This is exactly the same as a Herrscher's birth, but the Honkai energy was not be enough to fully produce a Herrscher. That's why she is conscious but in the state of a Dead Walker."
He said without any pity: "If there were enough Honkai energy, or if the next major Honkai outbreak occurred, she might become a Herrscher. What we need to do now is study her and experiment with whether the Honkai will cause a major outbreak to occur prematurely because of her."
Is this person crazy?
The students thought in unison.
He analyzed how to dissect and study a person who still retained human consciousness, as if he had no humanity. And attempting to test if a major Honkai outbreak would happen prematurely?
If it really did happen prematurely, wouldn't they be the closest people, instantly corroded by Honkai energy and killed?
"Teacher, please reconsider. She can surely still be saved..."
"We are not researching how to save her."
He turned around and said in a chilling tone: "We are researching how to kill her."
At this moment, he stood in the shadow of the light, looking at the eyes that were both twisted in terror and pleading.
Perhaps there was indeed a way to save this student of his.
She was a perfect research subject, but wasn't she also his student? In the three years they spent together, this child was intelligent and cheerful, smiling every day like a little sun. She loved serving him tea and water, giving him shoulder rubs, and calling him "Teacher."
She often talked to him about her younger siblings at home. After their parents passed away, she had been taking care of them. She said that after the Honkai ended, she wanted to settle down with them in Shenzhou and spend every day happily traveling and sightseeing.
Oh, and she loved sour yogurt, the really sour kind. Occasionally, she would look enviously at other girls' well-developed chests, and she would loudly talk about the handsome boys she met that day.
She still had a future. She could still take her siblings to live their lives. She could still drink yogurt every day. She could still laugh cheerfully. She could still...
She could still live.
He watched his own terrified self, distorted in the reflection of the scalpel, under the light.
Gradually... he loosened his grip on the scalpel.
...
He stood in front of the restroom faucet, washing the blood from his hands.
Taking off the gloves, his hands were stained with bright red blood. He washed away the viscous red liquid.
But no matter how much he washed, he couldn't get them clean.